The RCAF dispatched multiple helicopter crews to search for the missing pilot, but quickly discovered that he was dead. The air force has said that his name “will not be released until next of kin are notified.”

Introduced in the 1980s, the McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet is the backbone of the Royal Canadian Air Force, with 73 operational planes, prior to the crash. The last crash involving the model also occurred out of Cold Lake in 2010, one of two locations where they are based, but the pilot was able to eject safely in time.